Archive for April, 2007

The first three months of 2007 have been drier in Tawa than the same period in the previous two years.

During the first 3 months of 2005, the Tawa weather station recorded 200 mm of rainfall. The same quarter of 2006 saw 218 mm recorded. Only 112 mm of rain was recorded during the same period this year.

Whilst rainfall during January this year was slightly more than the same period last year (66 mm vs 58mm), February and March have been considerably drier with only 12 mm and 34 mm of rain respectively.

The weather has been calmer, too. The lack of strong drying winds reducing the impact of the dry conditions on plants and soil.

Another strong earthquake has struck the Loyalty Islands south-west of Vanuatu. The latest quake struck just after 11 o’clock this evening, New Zealand time.

The latest earthquake was a shallow magnitude 6.3 event which struck at a depth of 10 km, 135 km north-east of Tadine, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia at 11:00 pm on Wednesday 4th April 2007 New Zealand time (10:00 p.m. local time).

This is the second strong quake to strike at a shallow depth in the area today.

[Compiled from data supplied by the US Geological Survey and its contributing agencies.]

A strong earthquake struck the Loyalty Islands south-west of Vanuatu this morning, New Zealand time.

The magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 135 km north-east of Tadine, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia at 8:26 a.m. on Wednesday 4th April 2007 New Zealand time (7:26 a.m. local time). The 41 km deep quake occurred near the North New Hebrides Trench which marks the subduction zone between the Fiji Microplate and the Australian Plate.

[Compiled from data supplied by the US Geological Survey and its contributing agencies.]

Strong aftershocks following the magnitude 8 great earthquake in the Solomon Islands yesterday have been occurring at a steady rate.

Nineteen earthquakes of magnitude 5 or greater have struck the Solomon Islands in the 16 hours that have elapsed since the magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck near Gizo in the New Georgia Islands.

All of the aftershocks have been shallow according to data supplied by the US Geological Survey, with fifteen events registering magnitude 5 and four registering magnitude 6.

News reports indicate that damage from the earthquake and tsunami that generated waves nearly 2 metres in height close to the epicentre has been severe for inhabitants of Gizo and nearby islands with water, food and shelter desperately needed.

Shallow seismic activity has increased in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, as a result of the quake, with two magnitude 4 events and one magnitude 5 event reported since the great quake struck yesterday morning, New Zealand time.

There was a time when our houses were havens of peace where we could retire from a day’s slog in the salt mines or recover from our latest whipping in the slave pit, grab a bit of kai, watch a bit of telly and snatch forty winks.